


you mean the universe to me

by ekstasy4



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Gay, Happy Ending, Heart metaphors, Hurt/Comfort, Lesbian Drama, Lesbians have a very hard time confessing to each other, No Lesbians Die, Retelling, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) Season 5, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) Season 5 Spoilers, Too much hurt not enough comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:54:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28612395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ekstasy4/pseuds/ekstasy4
Summary: Adora and Catra’s relationship has been fractured from years of resentment, longing, regret. They’ve fought, reconciled, and hurt each other again and again. But even though their moment of reconciliation has brought them momentary peace with the chance of fostering something more, they still have one more obstacle to overcome. Themselves.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra/She-Ra (She-Ra)
Kudos: 10





	you mean the universe to me

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings, so this is my first fic and I’ve kinda been meaning to post this for a while. This is basically a retelling of the key moments in the latter half of the fifth season. So, enjoy I suppose, even though you’ve seen all these scenes before, I tried my best to delve in deeper into the character’s head, exposing all the gäe thoughts and just offering some better insight into the minds of these pining lesbians in a way the show couldn’t have. I’ve added some twists on certain scenes so I hope you like that as well. I also didn’t break the story into multiple chapters cuz I’m just lazy that way lmao...so um anyways, not to further stall you dear reader, here’s my fic. enjoy.

Adora was laying in bed, her arms brushing against Catra’s back. Just the day before she had saved Catra from Horde Prime’s evil grasps and now there she was, sharing Catra’s bed in a desperate attempt to reconcile with her old friend turned enemy turned friend once more. 

Catra had shown all but gratitude to Adora for saving her. It was scary, Adora thought. Scary how it almost seemed like she didn’t care. After all, she had already told Adora over the intercom, in a desperate shout into the void, how she didn’t matter and how there was no one left in the universe who cared about her. She told herself that Catra was feigning it, that she didn’t mean what she said but she felt her faith wavering with every silent second that passed between them. 

In the dark, she looked almost frail and delicate like the petal of a flower, threatening to be whisked away by a pull of the wind. Her frame seemed to be shuddering in the darkness, as if choking on the shadows that had long wrapped themselves so nicely around her. Adora wanted, desperately, to wrap her arms around Catra’s frail, shaking body and never let her go. She made that mistake once before but she won’t do it again, she’ll never let her go even if Horde Prime razes Etheria to the ground, even if old habits wedge themselves between them once again, even if her heart tells her otherwise. If she learned one thing over the past few days, it's how much she missed Catra and how ready she is to never let go of Catra, ever again. 

“I can feel you looking at me.” Catra said, her body still facing at the other side

There was a false bravado to her voice, she’s still so desperate to keep up that mean, evil facade she’s put on for so long. 

“Maybe I am.”

“Well, just quit it, okay? I’m trying to get some sleep.”

The thought of Catra not being able to sleep because of Adora’s staring brought a blush to her face but it quickly faded off. Her walls were still up and she didn’t seem open to any of Adora’s advances. Perhaps, the only way to get to her was to get to the root of it all. 

“I’m sorry I left you in the horde. All of this was my fault, Catra. Maybe if I weren’t so selfish, Horde Prime wouldn’t be here and you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.” 

She longed to embrace Catra just like they used to do when they were kids, to wrap her hands around her and to whisper some dumb promise she will never keep into her ears. But all of it seemed so distant, light years away, in some beautiful, enclosed neverland too faraway, too sacrosanct. Now, she feared even the slightest touch would scare Catra away, making her back into a corner with eyes so filled to the brim with fear and trauma. 

Catra didn’t respond as Adora had feared. The words that once flowed so easily between them were caught in Adora’s mouth. 

They lay there in silence for a good few minutes before Catra said, her voice barely audible over the low thrumming of the ship’s engine, 

“I never hated you.”

Adora’s eyes widened. She wasn’t even sure if she had heard her or if it was just her mind playing some cruel trick on her ears. 

“You didn’t?” 

Catra didn’t say anything. 

“But, Etheria, you nearly destroyed it. I thought I saw the hate in your eyes.”

True, there was something burning in Catra’s eyes as she placed her finger on Adora’s forehead, the world around them being engulfed by some terrible white light. It could’ve been anything in the harsh light, rage, spite, anger, heartbreak; the full spectrum of loss and pain captured in those eyes like fractured mirrors. And Catra’s smile, at that moment, scared her. It was malicious yet it tethered on the edge of grief and loss, a sad smile bemoaning the true final loss of the bond she and Adora once shared, the sanctity of their childhood being lost in the great white void that swallowed everything, even reality itself.

“Why did you think I pulled the lever, Adora? To destroy the world?”

“Yes-

“No, I did it because of you!” Catra snapped, her ragged frame curling inwards

Adora’s eyes widened in shock.

“What?”

“Was that really so hard to figure out? I didn’t care about Hordak or his stupid master plan. If I couldn’t get rid of you myself, then I was going to let reality swallow us both up.” 

“You endangered the lives of every living creature on Etheria just so you could spite me?”

“Is that really such a surprise, Adora? You know who I am.” Her voice was low and horse 

Swallowing her fears, she sidled up closer and wrapped her hands around Catra’s body. Her old friend’s body stiffened like a plank of wood, the fur on her body standing up.

“Just what are you doing?!” Catra exclaimed, her voice few octaves higher than normal 

“I know this isn’t enough. I know everything I’ll ever say or do may never be enough but this...this can be a start.”

She felt Catra’s body slowly settle down, the beats of her heart echoing softer. Her body relaxing in Adora’s steady grip. Trauma was something that haunted them both, but Catra had suffered the shorter end of the stick, even if her body told her to back away, something, perhaps her heart, was telling her to stay; to be vulnerable, to show affection in whatever form it may take. 

“Maybe this is a start.” Said her old friend, a little uncertainly

Adora felt a hand resting on her own

“I’m sorry as well.” Catra’s voice may have been soft but it was firm and resolute 

They both hurt each other, over and over, time and time again. The fight between them is perpetual but here was a moment, a moment of quiet. Perhaps there was nothing they could both say that could truly capture the sum of an apology. But maybe an apology isn’t needed, they both knew each other so well, even upon the cusp of a devastating war, at the intersection of destiny, at the end of the world. They were truly the only ones who knew each other.

Adora tightened her grasp on Catra’s shivering body,

“I’m not letting you go, ever again.”

-

The blinding blue light of the failsafe shone with the intensity of a dying star being reborn. The bright crystal seemed to hold the entire universe inside it. Adora could’ve spent years looking at it, trying to discern what sacred texts it held within, had she not been faced with an impossible situation and a choice to make. 

Catra stood before her, her hair flowing in the wind, hand outstretched and expression desperate. 

“Adora, please! You don’t have to keep listening to Shadow Weaver.”

Shadow Weaver stood behind Catra, clearly unhappy with this unforeseen distraction. 

“You must not listen to Catra and her selfish pleas, Adora! The fate of the universe is hanging in the balance and you’re the only one who can save it so I implore you, do the right thing. Or not, we’re all doomed.”

“Adora, no! Shadow weaver is using you as a sacrifice. This is your choice to make, not her’s!”

“Catra, stop this game at once! Are you going to let reality be erased once again? Let millions suffer at the hand of Horde Prime? Or worse?! This is the only way to save the universe, Catra, you have to stop being so irrational.” Shadow weaver shot back, her hands clasped into desperate fists 

Catra ignored Shadow Weaver and addressed Adora directly instead, her voice imploring, 

“Please don’t take the failsafe. You know, it doesn’t always have to be you.” 

Adora looked on desperately, first at the crystal then at Catra. The heartbreak etched onto her face devastated Adora. 

“Catra, I-

“Adora, please. Please. We can figure out another way to fix this.”

Shadow weaver yelled over the chaos, her voice conveying a great vehemence, 

“Catra, you must let Adora do the right thing! Your foolishness will doom us all otherwise.”

“Why must you always sacrifice yourself to save everyone else!? Why don’t you ever get to choose?” She said, gesturing roughly to Shadow Weaver

Shadow weaver meandered angrily in the background, her fists curled up so tightly that dark magic oozed out from it.

“Catra, please swallow any hard feelings you have now. She-ra is needed and if she doesn’t take the failsafe, we’ll all die. There won’t be any future for you to spend together with your friend if Etheria gets levelled to dust.”

”This isn’t about us, Shadow Weaver! It’s about Adora, why must she be the sacrifice?! Why not you or anyone else- 

”Stop fooling yourself, Catra. It’s always been about the both of you. Ever since Adora left, it’s always been about her to you.” Shadow Weaver said, her eyes slitting and her calm voice tethering on the edge of annoyance, dismissiveness

Catra looked visibly frightened by that statement, as if someone had suddenly cut a slit in her chest and took out her heart for the rest of the world to see. She took a step back, shaken.

“You don’t know me, Shadow Weaver. The last thing you’ve ever tried to do is understand me or Adora. The last thing you ever tried to be is a good m- 

“Guys, stop it! Please.” Adora interjected suddenly, her hands held up in a complacent manner

Everyone looked at her. Suddenly, Adora felt weird having so many gazes on her at once but she swallowed her doubts and said, with a tone of finality,

“Look, I...I dunno much but one thing I do know is that I’m needed right now. I have to take it, Catra. It’s better than letting Horde Prime get access to the Heart!” 

Her face etched with fear, Catra made one last desperate grab onto Adora’s arm, the suddenness of her movement causing the embers from some put out fire to drift in between them. They looked at each other in the blinding blue light of the failsafe, their gazes locked in almost stunned silence. Catra stood a little lower, sliding her hand down onto Adora’s and clasping it as if it were the last lifeline keeping them tethered as the currents threatened to tear them apart once again.

The failsafe had casted a beautiful ephemeral blue light upon her face, blending in with the tears that spilled out from her eyes, 

“You’re the sacrifice, Adora. You’ll die.”

She knew, deep down, what she had to do. Even if that meant turning her back on Catra one last time, even if it meant dying, she knew what she had to do; what she had always been destined to do. Her role as She-ra had been determined for her long before she ever had a say in it, and it was her duty now to save the universe, just as the sage destiny had dictated. She was never one to back down from a fight, and she knew she wasn’t going to let Horde Prime get his slimy clawed fingers on the heart, even if it meant dying for the betterment of the universe.

As gently as she could, Adora disentangled her hand from Catra’s. 

“I’m sorry, Catra. But this is the right thing to do. I’m so sorry.”

She turned around and faced the crystal, so that she would not have to see Catra’s expression. She-Ra’s the saviour of worlds, so now Adora had to act like it. Taking in a deep breath, she marched on and into the blinding light.

-

“Catra! Come back please.”

Adora was chasing after Catra, clutching onto her backpack, the failsafe glowing brightly on her chest.

She could see the outline of Catra’s body in the distance, how was she going to catch up?

“Catra, come back here! Please, we can talk this out.” Adora yelled

Catra didn’t even seem to have heard her. Desperately, Adora clambered up a tree and swung from the branches, leaping precariously from tree to tree. Once she was close enough, she jumped down and landed right in front of Catra, stopping her dead in her tracks.

“What do you want, Adora? Just leave me alone!” Said Catra angrily

“We’re launching a siege on Horde Prime tomorrow and we need all the help we can get. We need you.”

“Well, you seem to have everything figured out so why am I needed?”

She attempted to scoot past her but Adora placed a hand in her wrist.

“Catra, I need you.” 

“Well couldn’t you have thought about that earlier before you took the failsafe?”

“Is that what this is really about?”

“Yes, Adora! Is it obvious enough now?! So, let go of me.”

She snatched her wrist back from Adora’s grasp.

“Catra, you’ve never backed away from a fight before. Why are you doing this now?” Came Adora’s voice, surprisingly hurt even to herself 

“Because you took the failsafe! You listened to her, you believed everything she said! She’s using you, manipulating you like how she manipulated us when we were kids. That’s all she ever does! How are you ok with any of this?”

“But Shadow Weaver isn’t wrong! The failsafe is the only thing that can activate the Heart of Etheria. Just come with me, It’ll be better with you by my side.” Adora said imploringly, extending a hand 

Catra looked at it, tempted for a good second before quickly shaking herself out of it, her temper only reignited. Angrily, she swatted away Adora’s gesture. 

“You won’t need me.” She said coldly

“Catra, no-

“So be it, Adora, you go and play the hero now but I don't have to be around to watch it happen.”

Catra rushed past her but Adora wasn’t ready to give up just yet. She leaped forward and tackled Catra from the back, pinning her to the ground.

“Let go of me, Adora! You’ve already made up your mind, it’s time for me to make up mine.” 

“Catra! I had to do it. This is for the good of the world, the universe needs She-Ra now more than ever. But...I really need you. Please!”

Catra struggled against Adora’s grasp, yelling out, 

“No, you don’t! You never did. Because you’ve only ever played She-Ra, you’ve saved the world over and over again. But when do you get to be Adora? Tell me!”

Her words shocked Adora enough for her grip to loosen up. Angrily, Catra ripped her hands away from Adora and stood up.

Adora looked at her, her knees on the ground, her hands hanging uselessly by her sides. 

Rubbing her bruised wrists, Catra said, a mask of indifference pulled over her face,

“Do you get it now? Leave.” 

Adora looked on helplessly at her, stifling the want to reach out and touch her; if only for the last time,

“Please-

“I won’t repeat myself.” 

She stood up unsteadily, her word failing her when she needed it most.

Without another word, Catra turned around and fled into the night. 

And Adora was left standing there, staring at the empty space before her, wishing it could’ve gone any other way but this.

-

Melog had somehow found her, wandering around the forest aimlessly. 

Catra’s jaw went slack,

“How did you find me?!”

“Miaw. Your scent was not hard to discern” He communicated via their psychic cat bond

“You better not be trying to bring me back.”

“I am merely following you wherever you go”

“Alright, c’mon then buddy, we’ve got places to be.”

Catra walked on but soon realised that Melog wasn’t trailing behind her as he always did. 

She turned around to see Melog sitting down and staying put, as if rooted to the ground.

“Melog, aren’t you coming?”

“Why do I sense a great sadness coming from within your heart?” He asked, his glossy eyes peering at her

“Oh no, not this again. You said you weren’t trying to bring me back! Besides, I’ve already made up my mind.” 

“But these are just the emotions, that I am reading from you.” 

“So what? Adora’s made up her mind and I don’t need to stick around to see it blow back on her.”

“There is grief hanging over the girl you love.” 

“Well it’s too late now for anything. She’s already decided her fate, now I’ve got to decide mine.”

Melog looked at her with what looked like sympathy in his big glossy eyes. 

“So, are you coming or not?”

Reluctantly, he paced over, arching his back for Catra to ride on him. 

Together they rode on to the distance, a flurry of thoughts clouding Catra’s mind all the way. It was strange not being by Adora’s side anymore, being alone and by herself without knowing someone will always have her back, that there’s someone out there who cared for her. It felt weird and it felt suffocating almost, just like the old days in the Horde where she would pace alone around the secret spot on the roof only she and Adora knew, holding the handrails Adora used to hold, staring at the same blood-tinged skies she and Adora used to look at. 

She remembered how sad she used to be, sad and angry, and….incomplete.

Melog suddenly screeched to a stop, nearly toppling Catra over. 

“Melog! Why’d you stop like that, I nearly fell over!” Screeched Catra to her companion

“Miaw. I sense a great disturbance up ahead.”

Frowning, Catra trudged further up on foot, Melog at her heels. A great, ominous scene expanded before her as she parted a stray bush. Horde Prime’s legion of clones were walking about, working at some big contraption; a drill. In the background, a tall white spire loomed ominously, a colossal tower whose apex was lost in the clouds. Its shiny white facade gleaming malevolently even in the thick crematory fog of the morning. 

Busying themselves with work, the clones of Horde Prime scuttled about, dotting the landscape like tiny white ants. Their lifeless, droning mantra being repeated over and over, even as they toiled,

“Glory be to Horde Prime.”

A loud drumming sound played in her ears as she quickly retreated from the scene, running back towards the safety of the forest.

Her heart beated rapidly even as she slowed her pace. She helplessly faced the trees before her, not daring to throw a glance back. 

“Did you see that?! He’s almost done with...with whatever the hell that thing is!”

“It is best you warn the girl and her friends.”

“You’re right, I have to.”

She took a step forward before realising what she just said. 

“Wait no, I can’t...it’s too late for that.” 

“Miaw. But your friends need you.”

“I-I can’t.”

“Why?“

“You don’t get it! She...she left me, she chose her grand destiny, her Shadow Weaver and her She-Ra over herself. Over me! She never cared for herself like she cares for everyone else-

Melog pounced upon her, bringing her to the ground with his front two paws. 

Miaw 

With tears spilling violently down her face, she cried out, 

“Adora doesn’t want me!....not like I want her.”

Melog purred sympathetically, placing a paw on Catra’s chest, right above her heart. She took a few moments to shed the last of her tears before wiping them away, her chest shuddering. 

It was a good few minutes before she managed to prop herself up.

Sitting upright, she casted a glance at Melog, a small mutual understanding passing between the both of them.

“I know, she needs me.” Said Catra, her voice choked with a wild flurry of emotions 

Melog nodded, his glossy eyes lighting up

“And I’m going to have to warn her about what Horde Prime is doing.” She said with a little strained chuckle, bringing herself up and not without a struggle 

Slowly but unhesitantly, she mounted onto Melog’s back and took off into the forest, not bothering to look back.

-

The wind stung her eyes as she clinged onto Melog’s back, wiping away at the tears that were forming there. She thought about Adora on her long, quiet journey back. She found herself over and over again longing to tell Adora the truth, no matter how bitter it was or how silly or foolish it sounded. She felt like a child again, running down the endless dark corridors of the Fright Zone, away from Adora and towards a shadowy, unending expanse. Feeling exhausted and then proceeding to hide behind a set of boxes, crying to herself until Adora came and parted her frizzled hair, comforting her and whispering some dumb promise into her ear that Catra would take all too seriously. It was those little moments that stuck with her, becoming something cherished and bittersweet, something so nostalgic it hurt her to even think about. Those tiny fleeting moments when they gazed into each other’s eyes and seemed to know what the other was thinking. Those moments when their hands brushed and Catra felt a burning sensation come to her cheeks. It was in those moments of vulnerability, of tenderness that erupted so suddenly between them that the words she longed to tell Adora would almost slip from her mouth. 

She felt like a stupid child again, so foolish and naive and distracted. 

“No, I can’t do that to her. She doesn’t deserve this, Catra.” She muttered to herself 

Catra was so lost in her thoughts that she almost didn’t realize when Melog had finally stopped running. Shaking away her troubled contemplations, she got off him and cautiously approached the camp. Anticlimactically, she parted away the curtains to a sad empty scene; the remains of a campfire that had died out a long time ago, a ukulele lying atop a silk cloth and discarded food wrappers littered all over the place. 

“No, no! They’re gone.” 

Melog purred sadly

“You’re too late.” 

A voice that Catra despised suddenly rang out from the shadows. Clenching her fists, she asked in what she hoped was an even voice,

“Shadow Weaver, where is everyone else?” 

“Gone. They’re launching their final attack. Good riddance I say.” Her voice was just the slightest bit tipsy

“Where did they go?”

Shadow Weaver emerged dramatically from the shadows, her posture slightly hunched and her fingers clasping upon the stem of a wine glass,

“Adora’s friends are off to Horde Prime’s little base nearby. But Adora...she and her two best friends went off to the First One’s ruins.”

“Wait, why is she-

Catra gasped suddenly,

“The heart of etheria! She’s gone after it!”

“Ah yes, the heart or....whatever you call it.” Shadow weaver replied, waving her free hand extravagantly 

“You need to bring me there.”

“No, why would I?! I’d rather just lounge here and sip this fanciful w-

“Shadow Weaver, you’re going to bring me there now! I don’t care what you say, Adora needs you. She won’t survive there all by herself, siphoning the magic into the heart is going to kill her.” Catra pleaded 

“She-Ra’s the only one who can survive the full brunt of the heart’s magic. She’s our last hope, I'm afraid and she’s gone off already.”

“Then we have to get to her before she reaches the heart! You owe her that much, the least you can do is help Adora.”

“Why do you think I’m here, Catra? It is because I failed her! I’m better off here, by myself.” She decried bitterly

“Look you said it yourself, Shadow Weaver, the fate of the universe is hanging in the balance, so what’s the point of you wasting up here all alone while Etheria gets levelled to dust?”

She continued on heatedly, approaching her old tormenter,

“And as much as I hate to say it, Adora needs you by her side so if you even give the slightest damn about her, you’d follow me right now.”

There was a long pause as Shadow Weaver seemed to regard Catra’s words. After a long contemplating pause, she finally placed her wine glass down on a nearby crate, her mind seemingly made, 

“Alright, I’ll follow you to the heart. But I’m only doing this for Adora.” She said, her eyes slitting

Catra looked up at Shadow Weaver,

“Fine then, lead the way.”

Shadow Weaver took the lead with Catra trailing behind as she always did back in the Horde. She parted the curtains and casted a glance over her shoulder at Catra, 

“We don’t have a moment to lose, Adora must be nearby to the First One’s ruins now.”

“Right.”

They both stepped out into the open, dawn had already broken and there was a slight trace of sunlight grazing upon the horizon. The nocturnal critters of the night had retreated to their nests and burrows, their absence giving way to silence. The scene was serene, peaceful almost despite the looming shadow of Horde Prime and his tower of disquietude over yonder. 

Catra took in a deep breathful of air, keeping her eyes on Shadow Weaver all the while. As Shadow Weaver glided over to Melog, Catra blurted out, her fists still clenched, 

“We haven’t forgotten what you did to us. I hope you realize that.”

Shadow Weaver looked back at Catra, her demeanor conveying a great impatience, 

“If you’re expecting an apology, that will have to wait until later. We’re running short of time right now I’m afraid.”

Begrudgingly, she approached Melog and mounted him with Shadow Weaver taking the lead in front. The three of them then wordlessly took off on one final journey. 

-

In the last moments leading up to Shadow Weaver’s sacrifice, Catra was on the verge of being consumed by a First Ones’ monster. She was quite literally dangling by the precipice of life, suspended over its huge wide open maw when the moment of truth arrived, Shadow Weaver had dramatically returned, shooting beams of magic at the creature, saving her. And then finally, the last sacrifice as she used what little magic she had left to fling Catra to safety as she engulfed both the monster and herself in a bright fiery blaze. Catra never did get that apology. But maybe that last act of selflessness was it. 

She collapsed to her knees, the tears streaming down her face wiped off by the bright, nebulous explosion that killed the closest figure she ever had in her life to a parent, if but an abusive one. Adora’s hand was on her mouth, her eyes so utterly desolate and broken. As the embers settled into dust, all that remained of the scene was Shadow Weaver’s shattered mask, lying discarded on the floor; no longer concealing a twisted, scarred face. 

Adora placed a hand on Catra’s shoulder, looking at her sympathetically. 

Wordlessly, they wrapped their arms around each other and proceeded to make the final leg of the journey to the heart. Goodbyes were never easy, but maybe this one was better left unanswered. 

Supporting each other, they limped their way to the chamber of the heart. In the great silence, nothing could’ve been said into the void that could have articulated what either of them were feeling. Words that could truly, wholly encapsulate the events that had transpired over the past twenty four hours. Perhaps to substitute for the futility of speech, Catra squeezed Adora’s shoulder; just a little playfully and maybe just a little apologetically. 

They walked on until they finally reached the entrance to the heart chamber. The passageway before them was lit with a blinding glow. That’s where everything happens, the culmination of their long, winding journeys and the destiny that had been set in motion by the First Ones’ and their grand plan all those years ago. 

Adora breathed in deeply, the cut by the side of her chest suddenly hurting more. 

“Here goes nothing.” She said, her chest rattling

Catra didn’t say anything, rather she tightened her grip on Adora’s body; almost as if bracing for the worst. 

As they entered, the vastness of the Heart of Etheria expanded before them in a sweeping panorama. A bright nebulous glow filled the entire chamber as tendrils of light spiked outwards, almost as if the magic were trying to break free of the restrictions that the First Ones had built aeons ago. Staring into the blinding light, it was near impossible to discern the true size and profundity of the Heart of Etheria. It could’ve been vast enough to harbour eternity itself or smaller than a hand. But it was futile to try and make sense of the heart, it wasn’t a palpable object rather it was the sum of all magic on Etheria, locked away in a metal prison to waste away for centuries. 

Catra supported almost all of Adora’s body weight as they both climbed up the platform where the heart sat on. She could feel Adora getting weaker, her bond to She-Ra waning dangerously. As they finally reached the plateau, the end, Adora’s knees suddenly buckled. Catra caught her by the arm, barely managing to bring her up. 

Catra cried out, “Adora, are you ok!?”

“I’m getting...weaker. My connection to She-Ra-

“No, forget about that. Focus on the heart!”

Adora looked up to the indiscernible core of the planet, the bright light casting an almost ethereal look on her face. 

“It’s so beautiful. And it’s also the end.”

“C'mon Adora, we have to do this.”

“No, Catra. You have to leave now.”

Catra’s eyes widened in shock, “What?! No way.”

“I’m sorry, I have to do this by myself. This is my part now, Catra. Just get away from here as fast as you can.”

“No! I’m not leaving you again. I’ve done that too many times already.”

She took a step closer and cupped Catra’s face in her palms, “This is my duty and I have to do this alone, I’m sorry.”

They brought their foreheads together but Catra kept her eyes on the floor, her fists curled. 

“This just might be the end.”

“No.”

Catra grabbed Adora’s hands, looking directly into her eyes.

“I’m not leaving you. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, I’ll say it as many times as you need me to, I’m not leaving you. If you’re going to do this, you’re going to do it with me by your side. Do you remember what I told you all those years ago back in the Horde?”

“You always said it was going to be me and you at the end of the world.” Adora said, her grief-stricken eyes widening 

Catra gave a soft chuckle, “Look at us now, at the wrong ends of forever.”

“Well, the end of the world wasn’t quite what we envisioned, huh?” Adora said, casting a glance at the glowing heart above them 

“So yeah, to answer your dumb question, I’m not leaving you even if you ask politely. Or if you scream it into my face. The truth is, I need you. And I won’t run away this time, I promise. I’ve just lost so much and...I can’t lose you now as well.”

Adora squeezed her eyes shut, a singular tear rolling down her cheek. It wasn’t like Adora to cry, but it seemed she allowed just one grief-stricken tear to escape. 

“Ok. We’ll do this together.”

Adora lowered her arms down but even so, their hands were still clasped in one anothers’

They both looked stoically at the heart, bracing themselves for what’s to come. But just as her heart had been filled with courage, Adora felt her entire body violently buckle and collapse. 

“ADORA!” Catra yelled out in shock as Adora collapsed to the floor, her vision swimming 

It’s funny how the first word that comes to her tongue is Adora. How the first word that slips out is her name and her name only. 

Adora’s vision slowly gave way to darkness as Catra’s incoherent shouting became nothing but a muffled echo at the end of a long metal tube. 

-

She opened her eyes to a scene that she hasn’t thought about before. 

She was in Bright Moon, in an ornate room, a quarters of sorts. Before her was a waterfall, reflecting her clean, flawless face and her hair tied in perfect, beautiful ringlets. She looked around, confused, the entire scene had a dreamy vermeer-like quality to it; the objects around her simultaneously coming into and out of focus. 

Suddenly, the door burst open and out spilled two people. An older Catra and Glimmer run into the room, laughing playfully. Glimmer was still the same height but she seemed to carry a magisterial air, an aura of power radiated from her, and it quickly struck Adora how much she resembled her mother. Catra, on the other hand, was taller, her frizzy hair tied into a high ponytail. Her features were more refined, sharper, clearer as if she’s finally had the mud wiped clean off her face. 

“Let me brush your hair!”

“Like I’ll ever let you do that, sparkles.” Catra taunted playfully 

Glimmer charged forward with a hairbrush as Catra took refuge behind Adora. 

“Adora! Get her off me.”

“C’mon, Adora!” Glimmer pouted 

“Hey, guys. Are y'all ready?” Another voice rung out

An older Bow walked into the room with his arms crossed and smiling. There was an almost maternal look to him, with his half moon spectacles and his neatly braided hair, he looked so much like his fathers. 

Glimmer eagerly ran over to him. He cracked a warm smile and wrapped his arm affectionately around her shoulder. 

“Scorpia’s gonna kill us if we’re late for her ball.”

“Well, we wouldn’t be late if Catra just let me brush her hair!” Said Glimmer, arching her eyebrow cockily 

“As if.” Catra said, peeking head over Adora’s shoulder and sticking a tongue out 

“Quit being such a child, Catra. C’mon, let’s go get ready now.” Said Bow, jabbing a thumb at the door

He and Glimmer then exited the room, arms wrapped around each other’s waists. 

“Ugh, if they get anymore cuter I’m going to sneeze.” 

Catra breezed past Adora; the white jacket that was draped on her shoulders swooshing in the wind, carrying the scent of fresh laundry. 

She stopped in her tracks and looked back, her expression suddenly softer,

“Aren’t you coming?” She asked, extending a hand

Adora reached out to touch her but was met only with thin air. Suddenly, reality seemed to shift as if it were an illusion. The soft, bright glow of her room became almost too harsh and the hand extended before her seemingly glitched like a line of incorrectly written code. Catra’s face, so affectionate and loving, stayed there frozen in stasis as the white towering figure of Horde Prime materialised suddenly in front of her. 

“Ah, Adora. This is the reality you wanted, no?” Came his cold, calculating voice 

Adora took a step back, 

“You fiend!”

“So this is your loving Catra, huh? The future you want with her, with your friends. The life that could’ve been.” 

He talked in a nonchalant manner as if the concept of a future was so absurd, so illusory. His hologram self circled around Catra, caressing her face with a coy smile.

”Stop it.” She said, fists curling up 

Horde Prime looked at her as if he’d already won, his brilliant white smile flashing before her in jest, “None of this will happen of course, it’s just a playworld, an illusion. A projection of your innermost desires.” 

”You talk a lot for someone who does not feel.” 

He narrowed his eyes by just the slightest bit, “I was like you once, I desired many things. I had high ambitions, things I wanted to do. You and I, we aren’t so different now are we?”

”Don’t compare yourself to me. You and I are completely different people.”

Ignoring her words, he approached the hologram of Catra, casually observing her as if she were an art piece in a museum. 

”Shame, she would’ve made such a wonderful apprentice. Too bad she’s so tethered to you and your kind. Mortal belonging, I simply cannot fathom how you Etherians work. You are all the same, so quixotic, so romantic.” He said in a disappointed tone, placing a hand by the side of her face

”You can’t fathom, because you do not feel. You’re just an empty lifeless husk, only living on because you have an army of clones to serve as your bodies.” Adora spat, approaching him 

Unperturbed by her advancements, he continued on, holding Catra’s face in his hand and studying her curiously, “My clones are loyal, loving; the same cannot be said about you or your precious Catra. You Etherians are all the same, so easily misguided, so swayed by your emotions, by your love. Love is such a fickle thing, really. That’s why you drift apart, and fight each other, because of your love for one another. How foolish and mind numbing. Sometimes one is better off not having a heart.” 

Adora stopped and she would’ve cowered some time ago if someone had told her the exact same thing, but she knew what Horde Prime was doing. She wasn’t going to fall into his trap. 

”You don’t have a heart because you’ve never loved someone else before nor have you ever felt true love. So, you don’t get to say anything about us, or our foolishness.” 

He paused for a second, his fingers remaining still and unmoving. “How interesting. Perhaps, I’ll keep you and your precious little Catra alive so that I may study you, see how the both of you will act together as my servants.” He mused, in a curious tone 

“Leave. You don’t belong here, Horde Prime.” Adora said angrily, her voice shaking 

Blurting out a small chuckle, he turned around and proclaimed, his clawed fingers suddenly sliding down the back of Catra’s neck and snugly wrapping themselves around her throat, 

“Oh? But I do, because even in your happiest, brightest, carefreest day, you can never be rid of me. Remember my face, Adora. Remember this voice because you’ll never forget it again.” 

With a cruel, dismissive laugh, Horde Prime wiped away the perfect reality that stood before Adora with a wave of his hand. 

As the floor beneath her disappeared, she found herself falling down into the dark, bodiless abyss, her hands desperately trying to cling onto something that isn’t there. 

Horde Prime’s malicious voice echoed throughout the void, 

“You’ve been falling this whole time. You just never realized it.”

And with that, she found herself being locked in place by green chains, sharing the same sickly hue as the fluid that circulates into and out of Horde Prime’s body in clear plastic tubes. The same nauseating green that had filled the eyes of nearly everyone she loved, the same green that painted her nightmares and the hellscape of Horde Prime’s ship. It was the same green that she stared into desperately, trying to discern the human emotions that had once been there, hoping, praying that the person she once knew and loved would prevail instead. 

And it was that green that locked her in place, entrapting her, encircling her, flooding her with visions of a ruined world painted with nightmarish greens and plagued by the looming shadows of a clone army, walking in an endless march, repeating their glorious mantra to the omnipresent ears of Prime himself,

“Glory be to Horde Prime.”

They’ve been fighting a hopeless battle this whole time. 

Adora stood there in her chains, letting them eat her up, swallow her for all she cares. Prime had already won, and there was no use in fighting destiny. She looked up, just a little wistfully at the surface, a tiny slant of light, so impossibly far and tiny. 

“Adora! Please, wake up!”

Adora’s eyes widened. 

“Catra?”

“Adora, don’t give up yet. Please.” Her voice reverberated around her

“Catra! No! Go back. Run away from here as fast as you possibly can.”

“I’m not leaving without you.”

Suddenly, the slant of light that seemed so impossibly small and distant opened up before her like a door. A lit doorway stood before her, revealing a secret passageway to some nether exit that she earlier missed. But she would never make it, it was all too good. Too good. 

Up above, Catra was cradling Adora’s limp, unconscious body close to her chest. 

“Adora, stay, stay with me.” Catra said so softly even she couldn’t hear herself 

The green cuts on Adora’s chest had spread to her face and her condition was only worsening with the onset of every passing second. Catra’s fingers were squished desperately atop her wrist, trying her damndest best to discern a pulse. It was there, impossibly weak and fading with every minute. 

She told Adora, to her unconscious face, believing that she could somehow listen still, 

“Adora, wake up. I’m begging you. You can’t leave now, everyone needs you. The world needs you.”

Her tone increased in panic as she felt Adora’s pulse slip away further, dangerously close to disappearing all together,

“They need She-Ra. But I need you, Adora. I always have. So, please, please don't give up now.”

She closed her eyes and brought Adora’s face to hers, clutching onto her tightly. 

Down below, Catra emerged suddenly from the doorway, her face distraught and ruined by tears. 

“Adora, you’ve never given up before. So, please don’t do it now!”

Adora snapped out of her dazed state, the space before her and weight of the situation suddenly coming into clarity. 

“Catra, it’s too late! He’s got me. He won.” Adora said, looking up hopelessly at her friend’s face

“No, it isn’t. Why don’t you understand?! Fight it! Do it for me....for us.”

Adora looked at her in wide-eyed shock, stirring awake from her stupor. 

“Us?”

On the surface, Catra closely surveyed the green cuts on Adora’s ragged face, somehow increasing in size and snaking around the surface of her face like horrible green veins. 

Adora’s complexion seemed to lose its lustre with the onset of every passing second. She looked horrible, ragged, beaten up and it hurt Catra to look at her friend in such a state. But despite it all, the girl laying before her was just her friend, no longer She-ra, saviour of the universe, freak creation of the First Ones. It was just her, the girl she always loved, Adora. The word ‘friends’ always rolled off her tongue weirdly, it felt strange, unfitting for the both of them and the weird messy complex relationship they shared. They were so much more than that, Adora was the only other person in the world who fully understood her, who knew the workings of her heart on the back of her palm just like Catra knew her’s. Somehow, they each knew what the other truly desired, what each truly wanted, no mask, no false pretences could ever veil the fact that they've both truly only known each other since they were kids. And it struck her in that moment, how much Adora truly meant to her, she was so much more than a friend, so much more than a lover, she was worth so much more than some stupid force captain ranking, so much more than the world, than all the stars she could possibly have conquered, the countless galaxies she could have ruled with Horde Prime. She meant the entire universe to her. 

Suddenly, just for a split second, Catra’s fingers couldn’t pick up a pulse. It was just a halfth of a second but it was too much and it was finally enough to push Catra over the brink and do the unthinkable. In the heat of the moment, driven by all the emotions she’d been keeping; repressing, the truth she had kept so closely to her heart finally slipped from her mouth,

“Adora, don’t you get it? I love you, I always have. So, please just this once. Stay!”

Catra yelled out as she stood by that lit doorway, her hand outstretched in desperation. 

Adora’s eyes widened in shock. 

Everything suddenly hit her with the velocity of a speeding truck. It was her, it was Catra and she was standing there, so close with her hand stretching out towards her. In a desperate attempt, Adora reached out, shattering the chains that bound her. Their fingers nearly brushed, nearly touching. They struggled desperately, working against everything until finally Adora made one last herculean effort; reaching out fully and grabbing onto Catra’s hand. 

The Heart had finally broken down, the magic was leaving and siphoning itself into Adora’s unconscious body. In the chaos, a chunk of rubble broke from the ceiling and plummeted down on Catra who clung herself protectively onto Adora’s body. Closing her eyes and bracing for the worst, she was surprised when she hadn’t yet been crushed to death after a good five seconds. 

Abruptly, the chaos had come to a halt. The scene was quiet, calm almost. A moment of relative peace in the chaos of everything. Tentatively, she opened her eyes and casted a glance upwards. 

Atop her and Adora was a shield, seemingly conjured up out of nowhere. 

Adora’s raised hand fell to her side, dissipating the shield into thin air. Slowly and not without a struggle, she sat up, gazing upon Catra with almost childlike wonder on her face.

“You love me?”

“O-of course I do, you idiot.” Catra said, shocked but still unable to hold back a smile nonetheless

Adora looked at her, the affection on her face unlike anything Catra had ever seen before. It was love, it couldn’t have been anything else 

“I love you too.”

They both looked at each other, almost in complete disbelief. Then, guided by some unseen force, Catra took Adora’s face in her hands and leaned in for a kiss. 

In the chaos of the world seemingly ending, Catra recalled the way Adora‘s hair rose in the breeze, the way the wind shifted as if the tide of the war were suddenly shifting in their favour. Through the embers of destruction flowing in the breeze, she remembered the way Adora looked, the way her eyes were closed so peacefully as if she’d finally found what it is she was looking for, the way she was smiling as they kissed, the glow of power she emanated as she transformed into She-Ra. 

But it was funny how neither of them could quite recall what happened next. It was just events after events cascading like the turn of a tide. The world was saved in the process and Horde Prime had finally been vanquished, bringing a newfound peace to the galaxy. Adora still remembered the utterly twisted horrified look on Hordak’s face as she vanquished Prime’s spirit once and for all from his body, proving him one last time that love conquers all, even the heartless. But surprisingly enough that wasn’t really the most important part to her. The important part to Adora was her standing by the edge of a newer, brighter Etheria at the end of everything. The rising Sun bathed everything in a soft warm glow, with not a single hue of lime green in sight. 

Really for the first time in ages, she let out a sigh of relief, letting her shoulders rest unburdened. Etheria had been saved, the universe had been saved and Catra-

She felt something rest itself gently on her hand. Catra came to her side, looking out to the beautiful Etherian landscape, so vast and clandestine in its appearance. 

“You did it.” She felt the gentle weight on her left hand squeeze itself a little harder 

“No, we did it.”

They faced each other, their hands somehow finding themselves on each other’s just as they had so many times before

“He’s really gone.” Adora said, her smile lighter than it had ever been before 

“Good riddance.” 

They brought their foreheads together just as they used to do back when they were kids. It was a moment of peace. A moment of quiet after a long and devastating war. But there they were on the cusp of a new day, the beginning of a bright, boundless future that they will both finally be able to share together. 

However, their moment of peace was interrupted by the rest of the Best Friends’ squad. Glimmer and Bow barrelled into Adora and Catra, purposefully ruining their quiet moment and bringing them to the ground. 

As they lay on the ground, beside each other, their infectious laughter rang out into the air. It was a moment of rejoice as they spewed out inherent nonsense, their brains still trying to comprehend the situation. But after a while, their mania died down, and they resorted instead to quiet thoughtful contemplation.

They looked up at the sky, the stars somehow visible even in the morning Sun. 

It was quiet, all of them seemed to be wallowing in their own thoughts, thinking about the grand future that awaited them. Bow asked, picking absent-mindedly at the grass, 

“Hey, what do you guys say to an intergalactic Best Friends’ Squad road trip?”

Glimmer got up, looking at him with literal sparkles in her eyes,

“Yes! That would be amazing!” 

Everyone else got up as well, their excitement tangible in the air.

“Count me in!” Adora squeaked, curling up her fists in excitement 

Catra cracked an affectionate smile,

“Of course I’m in as well, you idiot. Let’s do this.”

They all brought each other into a tight group hug, laughing and smiling all the while.

The future looked bright, brighter than any star or Heart of Etheria. They stood on the edge of a new era, but it all faded in comparison to the plain beauty of Catra standing there, holding Adora’s hand. They were more than friends, closer than lovers. They’ve seen each other at their worst. Gazed fully upon the ugliest facets of their soul but also the most beautiful parts of it, that in each other's own way finally found their path to one another and found also that they’re both capable of love and loving each other. That they’d never stopped loving each other since the day they met, and could never stop doing so.

And it couldn’t possibly have ended any better.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, glad you made it this far. Their story means a lot to me ;)) so I tried my best to capture into words the flurry of emotions I experienced upon first viewing of the she ra finale. Hoped you enjoyed reading my fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. Pls leave a kudos if u did, rlly helps out a new writer like me here! Thank you.


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